How to cook pasta

Posted on by Forest in Recipes & Food

I love pasta and although it gets a bad name due to having high carbohydrates and the white variety having processed white wheat. A good quality whole wheat pasta served in sensible portions can be a versatile and important part of a healthy balanced diet and I may go as far to say that in my opinion even white pasta can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet. It can be served a million ways with an huge rank of sauces available including tomato base, cream based, pesto and more. It can be put into bakes, soups and mixed into salads to enjoy cold. Oh and most importantly it tastes great!

I like my pasta best served with a good quality home made basil and walnut pesto or a thick vegetable filled tomato based sauce. Arriabiata and Putenesca style sauces get my top vote but even a simple spaghetti sauce tastes fantastic.

Before you start it’s important to realize that although the cheapest pasta may be right for your budget like most things in life it may not always give the best taste. Shelling out a little more for a higher quality pasta may be worthwhile and it is always worth trying a few brands and keeping an eye on the ingredients.

How to cook pasta, simple steps

If cooked poorly pasta gets sloopy and starchy. Perfectly cooked it just tastes so much better. Al Dente, the Italian for Just Right (not undercooked as often believed) calls for the pasta to be a little firm.

You should measure pasta in a ratio of 4 cups, which is 1 quart, of water to 3 ounces of pasta and a large flat wide pot works best.

1. Fill your pot with the right amount of water for the amount of pasta you want to cook and add about 1/8 t-spoon of se salt per cup of water. Also add a small drizzle of olive oil to the water, this helps prevent sticking.
2. Bring the water to a rolling and fast boil.
3. Add your pasta and let the liquid come back to the boil but turn down the heat slightly to keep the nice rolling boil.
4. After 8 minutes has passed it’s time to test the pasta. take a fork and carefully taste a piece. The pasta should be firm but easy to bite through and taste cooked as you would expect. If not done keep testing every minute until it is perfect.
5. Drain the pasta right away. For hot dishes serve right away, for cold dishes run cold water over the pasta and refrigerate for a few hours.

As you can see it’s no big deal but those crucial minutes of testing are where things can go wrong. Once overcooked there is not much you can do about it.

You should check out our spaghetti sauce recipe to go with your perfect cooked pasta!

Tags: al dente, best pasta cooking, cook perfect pasta, how to cook spaghetti